One Killed in Shooting at Danish Event Featuring Cartoonist Who Drew Mohammed

Policemen secure the area around a building in Copenhagen, Denmark, where shots were fired on Feb. 14, 2015, outside the venue of a debate held on art, blasphemy and free speech.

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Gunmen in Denmark’s capital opened fire at a free-speech event that was being hosted by supporters of Lars Vilks, a controversial Swedish cartoonist who has angered many for his portrayals of Prophet Mohammed. One 40-year-old man was killed and three police officers were wounded at the Copenhagen café that was hosting a debate on art and blasphemy, reports Reuters. The BBC says two gunmen were involved in the shooting and the suspects fled by car. Vilks and the French ambassador to Denmark were at the café but were unharmed.

Approximately 30 bullet holes “ripped through the window of the Krudttoenden café,” reports the Associated Press, which cites channel TV2. “I saw a masked man running past,” one of the organizers of the event said. “I clearly consider this as an attack on Lars Vilks.”

In 2007, Vilks angered many by drawing Mohammed with the body of a dog, which was seen as particularly offensive because it’s an animal that conservative Muslims “consider unclean,” notes CNN. “It should be possible to insult all religions in a democratic way,” Vilks said in a 2007 interview. “If you insult one [religion], then you should insult the other ones.”